Warning! Spoilers ahead for Star Wars #20
In the latest issue of Marvel Comics' Star Wars series, Luke Skywalker was unknowingly shown a piece of his Last Jedi future before Return of the Jedi. Seeking to continue his Jedi training despite the revelation that Darth Vader is his father in Empire Strikes Back, Luke hasn't had a lot of avenues to easily continue his growth in the Force. However, his ongoing quest for knowledge has led him to the Living Sea of Gazian in this new issue, a powerful new world in the Force that remarkably allows him to commune with a Jedi Knight who existed centuries ago. However, the surreal conversation takes place in a variety of locales, including one of dire importance to Luke and his grim future.
In previous issues of Marvel's flagship Star Wars series, Luke has been visiting a list of planets important to the Jedi Order which R2-D2 recovered from an Imperial database. As a result, the son of Vader eventually found an ancient Jedi holocron, only to discover in Star Wars #20 (from writer Charles Soule and artist Marco Castiello) that it largely held recorded lessons from Grand Master Yoda he'd already been taught during his training on Dagobah. However, the one new piece of information it held was a new location: a "living sea" on the mysterious planet of Gazian, existing as a vergence in the Force.
Upon his arrival, Luke is able to speak to Elzar Mann, a Jedi Knight of the High Republic era. Apparently, the living sea takes imprints of those who visit it, preserving them as they were when they came to Gazian in their own time. As such, Mann gives Luke advice, offering new insights into the Jedi Order as he knew it 200 years before The Phantom Menace. Interestingly enough, their conversation takes place across a variety of locations such as a campfire, an ocean, and even outside the Jedi Temple on Coruscant as it was during Mann's time. However, the first place they speak is Ahch-To, first seen in The Last Jedi as the birthplace of the Jedi Order as well as the site where Luke would go into exile following the destruction of his own temple and students by Kylo Ren.
While it makes sense that Mann and Luke would see the origin planet of the Jedi Order, Luke has no idea about the personal and tragic significance Ahch-To will hold for him after the Empire's defeat and his failed attempts to restore the Jedi Order. Skywalker's time on the planet is an incredibly dark era, and it's even been theorized that Luke's decision to exile himself from the galaxy was perhaps planted into his head by Emperor Palpatine himself. However, this new issue may suggest that this newly revealed communion with Mann and a glimpse into this key world may have played a role as well.
As Marvel's Star Wars continues to reveal Luke's evolution into a Jedi Knight he becomes by Return of the Jedi, this is a major step on that path. However, the new reveal of Ahch-To is just as much a look into the Jedi Order's past as it is a peek at Luke Skywalker's personal future (even if he doesn't know it). By the issue's end, Luke has also recovered a book that will likely help him progress further, though readers will just have to wait and see what new insights it holds as the series continues.